Season’s greetings! At Mama Lisa’s World there’s no time of year we love better than the holidays! We’re happy to announce that we’ve recently added the following Christmas Carols to Mama Lisa’s World with mp3 recordings and YouTube videos: Italian Dormi, dormi, bel Bambin (Sleep, Sleep Beautiful Child) Tu scendi dalle stelle (You Come Down […] Read more »

The feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated by some people in the US, usually those with German ancestors. The holiday takes place on the night of December 5th to the morning of the 6th. Shoes or stockings are left out for St. Nick to fill with gifts. Here’s what Donna Berich wrote about it from […] Read more »

It’s almost the time of year when many of us will be preparing gingerbread houses with our families! We don’t often think of it but, of course, gingerbread houses are associated with the story of Hansel and Gretel. They’re lured into the home of the witch in the forest since it’s made of gingerbread and […] Read more »

We have over 150 German Songs on Mama Lisa’s World with translations. We were recently asked which ones are popular for children. Here’s a list of the best-known German kids songs that was shared by a German friend. Each song is linked to its lyrics page with a translation... Alle meine Entchen Alle Vögel sind […] Read more »

Monique and I have been adding a lot of Drop the Handkerchief Games to Mama Lisa’s World. This got Monique thinking about the actual meaning of handkerchief in different languages. Here are some of her thoughts... "I was thinking about the word for handkerchief in some languages and it’s funny what they literally mean. In […] Read more »

Written by Sadao Mazuka in Japan. The tune to "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" comes from Europe in the 18th century. It has travelled all over the globe, from France, to the US, to Japan. Here’s a breakdown of the route it’s taken... 1752 (France) - Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau composed the original tune to "Go […] Read more »

Eating bugs might sound disgusting to most of us today, but some people used to love it! Maybugs or Cockchafers used to be a great nuisance to crops in Europe. People were encouraged to hunt them down to lower their population. There’s even a French song about hunting Maybugs called Il était un petit homme […] Read more »

Monique Palomares wrote about a recent trip she took to Berlin, Germany. While there she visited the outdoors East Side Gallery created on parts of the old Berlin Wall. Here’s what she wrote: "The East Side Gallery is an open air gallery which was painted in 1990 on the East side of a section of […] Read more »

By Monique Palomares The bear is the symbol of the city of Berlin in Germany. You can see it printed on mugs and magnets. You can find different sized teddy-bears symbolizing Berlin. You can also find a bear map in a subway station showing which train to take. Though this one is not for sale! […] Read more »

By Monique Palomares I went to Berlin for the first time this Summer and discovered special crossing signs for pedestrians at traffic lights. These crossing lights are originally from former East Germany. There are male and female versions of these lights. The male ones are called "Ampelmännchen" (single ones are called "Ampelmann"). The green ones […] Read more »